Outer wall structure of prefabricated wall elements

ABSTRACT

An outer wall structure for a building of the kind having a carcase comprising vertically spaced floor structures and a plurality of horizontally spaced partitions or posts extending between them is composed of a plurality of prefabricated wall elements secured to the carcase in side-be-side relationship and forming a complete building facade. The sealed vertical joints between the wall elements are located between the partitions or posts of the carcase, and most of the wall elements receive an outer portion of a related partition or post in a channel-like recess formed in their inner sides.

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OUTER WALL STRUCTURE OF PREFABRICATED WALL ELEMENTS This inventionrelates to an 'outer wall structure in a building of the kind having acarcase comprising at least two vertically spaced floor structures and,extending between them, a plurality of horizontally spaced, erectstructural members having outwardly facing narrow surfaces extending ina common vertical plane and forming with the outer edges of the twofloor structures a horizontal series of spaced openings, the wallstructure proper being composed of a pluraity of prefabricated,plate-like wall elements secured to the carcase in side-by-siderelationship with sealed vertical joints between them so as to entirelycover the outside of the erect structural members and to form all bythemselves the building facade, each of the wall elements enteringinside said vertical plane with a part of its thickness.

lt is old, particularly in constructing multi-story buildings, to firsterect on the building site, commonly from reinforced concrete or othersuitable materials, a carcase or skeleton structure having at least oneopen side, where the floor structures and the erect structural membersbetween them form a more or less regular pattern of rectangular openingsor cells, and to then close or plug these openings or cells by insertingslablike wall elements therein to such a depth that the outer sides ofthe wall elements are substantially flush with the outer edges of thefloor structures and with the outer surfaces of the erect structuralmembers. The difficulty with this building method is that it is almostimpossible to obtain a satisfactory quality and appearance of thebuilding facade without subsequently covering the wall with plaster orsome sort of facing tiles or sheets, which is a time-consuming andexpensive task requiring, among other things, an objectionable use ofexternal scaffoldings. l

ln order to overcome these inconveniences, constructors have tried tomodify the design of the wall elements by providing them withflange-like external marginal portions adapted to cover the outside ofthe floor structures and the erect structural members of the carcase andat the same time restricting the depth to which the wall elements enterthe carcase openings to only a part of the element thickness. By thismodification it became possible to provide the wall elements with afacade-forming outei surface of good quality already in the factory, andit was expected that such improved wall elements should make it possibleto overcome all the inconveniences with the beforementioned buildingmethod.

However, in practice it was very seldom possible to obtain asatisfactory and attractive building facade with such wall elements,because considerable fitting and sealing problems arose when theprefabricated wall elements had to be installed in the carcase. A mainreason for this was that the accuracy of the carcase is always ratherpoor as far as its dimensions and angles are Concerned. ln addition, thewall elements were all so designed that the vertical joints betweentheir extended marginal portions were located outside and substantiallyright in front of the outer faces of the erect structural members, whichmade it extremely difficult to make the necessary adjustment. ln fact`it sometimes happened that thetitting and sealing problems became sodifficult that is was again necessary to resort to the use of theobjectionable external scaffoldings to solve them in an appropriatemanner.

Another drawback with the previously known wall elements in question wasthat their width usually varied considerably not only from building tobuilding but also within one and the same building, because the elementwidth was entirely determined by the width of the openings or cells inthe carcase and this latter width may in practice, and particularly indwelling and apartment houses, vary from say 6 feet or even less up toabout l5 feet or more. Accordingly, the manufacturer is forced to haveresources for producing wall elements of the largest width in question,but he must accept to most frequently deliver elements of a considerablysmaller width, thereby poorly utilizing the real capacity of hisproduction plant. Besides, the use of rather small wall elements willincrease the handling and installation work and costs and cause a poorutilization not only of the lifting capacity of the cranes on thebuilding site but probably also of the carrying capacity of thetransport means, such as lorries, used for the delivery of the elementsfrom the factory to the building site.

The object of this invention is to provide an outer wall structure ofthe kind referred to hereinbefore in which all these inconveniences areeliminated or at least considerably minimized.

In accordance with the invention this is primarily achieved by locatingthe vertical joints between adjacent wall elements between the erectstructural members of the carcase instead of outside and right in frontof them, and by providing in the inner side of at least most of the wallelements at least one vertically extending channel-like recess forreceiving an outer portion of a related one of said erect structuralmembers.

Hereby it becomes possible to give each wall element a width that iscompletely independent of the horizontal distances between the erectstructural members of the carcase, to considerably reduce the number ofelements as well as vertical joints in a wall structure of a given size,and to highly simplify all the indispensable work with fitting andsealing those vertical joints by making them readily accessible from theinterior of the building carcase.

In a preferred form of the wall structure embodying the invention, therecess of the wall elements is broad enough to receive the related erectstructural member with a considerable lateral clearance, which is thenfilled out from the interior of the building to give the completed wallstructure a smooth inner surface ex tending all up to the side faces ofsaid member. This is advantageous because it highly facilitates theinstallation of the wall element and particularly its proper adjustmentrelative to the carcase and also makes it possible to obtain a neat andtight connection between the wall structure and the erect structuralmember.

ln most cases it is also preferred to form the recess in the wallelements with a bottom portion of good heat insulating capacity.Particularly in cold weather this will prevent excessive cooling of theerect structural member with attended problems. Since there is no poorjoint or opening in the wall structure outside the erect structuralmembers an exceptionally good protection of them will result.

Preferably, the vertical joints between the wall elements are closednear the external wall surface by a tongue-and-groove lock andinteriorly by a covering wallboard, the joint being at least partlyfilled with heat insulating material therebetween. This will assure agood and tight joint which is nevertheless easy to make and capable oftaking up considerable tolerances.

The erect structural members may be, and mostly are, partitionsextending inwardly and diving the interior of the building into roomunit, but in certain cases they may be supporting posts or columnsextending between the outer marginal portions of the floor structuresonly in order to prevent the latter from sagging. The use of such postsis frequently necessary when the span between adjacent supportingpartitions is large or the floor structures are weak.

For further elucidation of the invention reference will now be had tothe accompanying drawing illustrating an embodiment thereof. ln thedrawing,

FIG. 1 is a front view of a building carcase covered by an outer wallstructure forming the facade and being composed of prefabricated wallelements,

FlG. 2 is a slightlyI enlarged but rather diagrammatical sectional viewtaken along the line ll-ll in FIG. 1, and

FlG. 3 is a still more enlarged, fragmentary and horizontal sectionalview illustrating a preferred form of the outer wall structure andshowing in greater detail the connection between a wall element thereinand a partition in the carcase as well as a vertical joint between twoadjacent wall elements.

The building shown in FlG. 1 consists of a skeleton structure or carcasecomprising a plurality of vertically spaced floor structures l and aplurality of narrow erect structural members 2 extending between them,all as indicated by dotted lines. Most of the members 2 are loadsupporting partitions extending inwardly into the carcase and dividingthe interior of the building into room cells, but some ofthe members 2may be supporting posts extending between the outer marginal portionsofthe floor structures only. ln the case illustrated, the carcase alsoincludes a pair of complete end or fire walls 3, but if the building isa free-standing one, the carcase may be open all around. The carcase 1,2is cntirely selfsupporting and mainly erected from incombustiblematerials, such as reinforced concrete, masonry and steel.

As shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 1, the floor structures l and theerect structural members 2 form a net-like pattern of horizontal seriesof rectangular openings or cells, one between the outer edges of eachpair of adjacent floor structures, and in each such horizontal seriesthe openings or cells are mutually separated by the erect structuralmembers 2. A can be seen from FlG, 2, the outer faces of the members 2extend in a common vertical plane, which generally coincides with theplane ofthe outer edges ofthe floor structures l. The openings or cellsthus formed in the carcase are closed by means of an outer wallstructure composed of a plurality of prefabricated, plate-like andrectangular wall elements 4,5,6,7,8, and 9 all being of story height andeach having one or more window openings therein. These wall elements arearranged in horizontal rows and connected to each other by horizontallyextending joints 10 and by vertically extending joints ll. The outermostwall elements 4 and 9 in cach horizontal row have their outer edgesconnected to the cnd walls 3. All the wall elements have their innerportions reliably secured or anchored to the carcase in a suitablemanner, such as by brackets (not shown).

In the case illustrated, the horizontal joints 10 extend on a level withthe upper edges of the window openings in cach row of wall elements butthis is not necessary, because they could as well extend close to theouter edges of the floor structures or elsewhere, if so desired. On theother hand, it is important that the vertical joints ll are locatedbetween, i.e. are horizontally displaced in relation to, the erectstructural members 2 of the carcase. Also, it is important that thewidth, i.e. the horizontal extent, of the wall elements 4-9 does notcorrespond to the size of the various openings or cells in the carcasebut is instead chosen to permit a maximum utilization of the capacitynot only of the cranes available on the building site for installing thewall elements but also of the production plant available for theprefabrication of the wall elements and, of course, also of thetransporting means,

In the example shown, this has been attained by giving all the wallelements 4-9 approximately one and the same width, nearly correspondingto twice their height, which in turn equals the story height of thebuilding. However, when the available production plant and handlingequipment so permits, a majority of the wall elements may be given astill larger width than shown, while one or a few of the wall elementsin each horizontal row may be smaller in width, if needed. Of course, itis not necessary, but mostly preferred, that the vertical joints l1coincide in the various horizontal rows of wall elements.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, each wall element 4-9 has in itsinner side at least one vertically extending channel-like recess l2receiving an outer portion of a related one of the erect structuralmembers 2. ln fact, the wall element 7 to the left in FlG. 2 has twosuch recesses. The outer portions of the wall elements extenduuinterrupted past the outside of the members 12 and, in order toprevent too extensive temperature variations in the outer portions ofthe members l2 in rough climates, the bottom portion of each recess 12is made with a good heat insulating capacity. As the members 2 extendpartly into the recesses l2, a substantial part of the thickness of eachwall element 4-9 will enter into the carcase openings to be closed,whereby a reliable attachment of the elements to the carcase is greatlyfacilitated. Obviously, the wall elements 4-9 have no significant loadsupporting task, but they have to serve as an efficient sound and heatinsulating shield between the building interior and the externalsurroundings. Therefor they may advantageously be of a composite natureand have a relatively low weight per surface unit, which will alsofacilitate their handling and installation. Successful results have beenobtained with wall elements composed of a rigid framework having anouter facing of weather-resistant sheet material, an inner facing ofwallboard and an intermediate filling of heat insulating material.

FlG. 3 shows as an example a preferred form of such a wall element inwhich the vertically extending members 13 of the framework are of woodand support an outer facing 14 of asbestos-cement sheets and an innerfacing l5 of plasterboard. The outer facing 14, which forms the facadeproper` is separated by a small ventilated interspace 16 and asteam-permeable sheet 17 from the framework 13, in the openings of whichseveral layers of fillings 18 of heat insulating material are inserted.Some of the frame members 13' form the vertically extending edgeportions of the wall elements,

and each vertical joint 11 between them is, as can be seen to the leftin FIG` 3, closed near the external wall surface by means of a strip 19serving as a loose tongue and having its edges entering into groovesformed between the respective member 13 and the marginal portions of therelated outer facing sheets 14. Inside the strip I9, the joint 11 isfilled with a heat insulating material 20 which is attached in advanceto one of the members 13 in the form of a cushion. Interiorly thevertical joint ll is sealed by an inner sheet of wallboard l5', which isattached first when the adjacent wall elements have been properlyinstalled, the said inner facing completing the interior surface of thewall elements.

From FIG. 3 it also appears that the channel-like, vertically extendingrecess l2 in the inner side of the wall element 9, which receives thepartition member 2, is defined by a series of incuts in horizontallyextending members 2l of the framework of the element, said incuts havinga width that considerably exceeds the thickness of the partition member2. In this way even considerable inaccuracies in the carcase can beaccepted. The horizontal members 21 together with the i vertical members13 divide the interior of the wall ele` ment into box-like compartmentswhich are filled with heat insulating material. Those compartments,through which the partition member 2 passes, are filled withheat-insulating pads 22, which are sufficiently compressible toaccomodate any possible irregularities in the outer surface of thepartition member. The latter compartments are also left open by themanufacturer, and first when the element has been installed in thecarcase they are filled out with additional pads 23 of insulatingmaterial on either side of the partition member and with manually fittedsupplemental pieces 15' and 15'l of the wallboard, the marginals ofthese pieces being attached to battens 24 fastened to either side of thepartition member 2.

In FIG. 3 the wallboard piece l5' fitted in to the left of the partitionmember 2 at the same time serves as an inner cover for the verticaljoint l1 between the two adjacent wall elements 8 and 9, but in mostcases entirely separate pieces or strips of wallboard will be requiredfor these two different tasks.

lt should be understood that the invention may be used also in wallstructures comprising wall elements composed in a manner entirelydifferent from that shown in FIG. 3. So, for instance, the invention mayas well be applied with wall elements made e.g. of cellular concrete orof the so-called sandwich type comprising a cellular core, e.g. ofexpanded plastic, with a weatherproof facing layer on its outside and alayer of wallboard on its inside. Also the sealing of the verticaljoints and the filling out of the recesses for the erect structuralmembers may be accomplished in other ways, such as by the injection ofan expansible plastic composition, by plastering or the like.

We claim:

l. An outer wall structure in a building of the kind having a carcasecomprising at least two vertically spaced floor structures and,extending between them, a plurality of horizontally spaced, erectstructural members having outwardly facing narrow surfaces extending ina common vertical plane and forming with the outer edges of the twofloor structures a horizontal series of spaced openings, the wallstructure proper being composed of a plurality of prefabricated,platelike wall elements secured to the carcase in sideby-siderelationship with sealed vertical joints between then so as to entirelycover the outside of the erect structural members and to form all bythemselves the building facade, each of the wall elements enteringinside said vertical plane with a part of its thickness, wherein saidvertical joints between adjacent wall elements are located between theerect structural members of the carcase, and wherein at least most ofsaid wall elements have in their inner side at least one verticallyextending channel-like recess receiving an outer portion of a relatedone of said erect structural members.

2. An outer wall structure according to claim 1, wherein said recess inthe wall elements is broad enough to receive the related erectstructural member with a considerable lateral clearance, which is thenfilled out from the interior to give the completed wall structure asmooth inner surface extending all up to the side faces of said member.

3. An outer wall structure according to claim I, wherein said recess inthe wall elements has a bottom portion of good heat insulating capacity.

4. An outer wall structure according to claim l, wherein each of saidvertical joints between the wall elements is closed near the externalwall surface by a tongue-and-groove lock and interiorly by a coveringwallboard, the joint being at least partly filled with heat insulatingmaterial therebetween.

5. An outer wall structure according to claim l, wherein said erectstructural members are partitions extending inwardly from said verticalplane between the two floor structures.

6. An outer wall structure according to claim l, wherein said erectstructural members are supporting posts extending between the outermarginal portions of

1. An outer wall structure in a building of the kind having a carcasecomprising at least two vertically spaced floor structures and,extending between them, a plurality of horizontally spaced, erectstructural members having outwardly facing narrow surfaces extending ina common vertical plane and forming with the outer edges of the twofloor structures a horizontal series of spaced openings, the wallstructure proper being composed of a plurality of prefabricated,plate-like wall elements secured to the carcase in side-by-siderelationship with sealed vertical joints between then so as to entirelycover the outside of the erect structural members and to form all bythemselves the building facade, each of the wall elements enteringinside said vertical plane with a part of its thickness, wherein saidvertical joints between adjacent wall elements are located between theerect structural members of the carcase, and wherein at least most ofsaid wall elements have in their inner side at least one verticallyextending channel-like recess receiving an outer portion of a relatedone of said erect structural members.
 2. An outer wall structureaccording to claim 1, wherein said recess in the wall elements is broadenough to receive the related erect structural member with aconsiderable lateral clearance, which is then filled out from theinterior to give the completed wall structure a smooth inner surfaceextending all up to the side faces of said member.
 3. An outer wallstructure according to claim 1, wherein said recess in the wall elementshas a bottom portion of good heat insulating capacity.
 4. An outer wallstructure according to claim 1, wherein each of said vertical jointsbetween the wall elements is closed near the external wall surface by atongue-and-groove lock and interiorly by a covering wallboard, the jointbeing at least partly filled with heat insulating material therebetween.5. An outer wall sTructure according to claim 1, wherein said erectstructural members are partitions extending inwardly from said verticalplane between the two floor structures.
 6. An outer wall structureaccording to claim 1, wherein said erect structural members aresupporting posts extending between the outer marginal portions of thetwo floor structures.